Thai basil is a type of basil native to

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

that has been cultivated to provide distinctive traits. Widely used throughout

, its flavor, described as anise- and licorice-like and slightly spicy, is more stable under high or extended cooking temperatures than that of sweet basil. Thai basil has small, narrow leaves, purple stems, and pink-purple flowers.

Description

Thai basil is sturdy and compact, growing up to , and has shiny green, slightly serrated, narrow leaves with a sweet, anise-like scent and hints of licorice, along with a slight spiciness lacking in sweet basil. Thai basil has a purple stem, and like other plants in the mint family, the stem is square. Its leaves are opposite and decussate. As implied by its scientific name, Thai basil flowers in the form of a thyrse. The

inflorescence In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...

is purple, and the flowers when open are pink.

Taxonomy and nomenclature

Sweet basil (''Ocimum basilicum'') has multiple

cultivar A cultivar is a kind of Horticulture, cultivated plant that people have selected for desired phenotypic trait, traits and which retains those traits when Plant propagation, propagated. Methods used to propagate cultivars include division, root a ...

s — Thai basil, ''O. basilicum'' var. ''thyrsiflora'', is one variety. Thai basil may sometimes be called chi neang vorng, ''anise basil'' or ''licorice basil'', in reference to its anise- and licorice-like scent and taste, but it is different from the Western strains bearing these same names. Occasionally, Thai basil may be called '' cinnamon basil'', which is its literal name in Vietnamese, but ''cinnamon basil'' typically refers to a separate cultivar. The genus name ''Ocimum'' is derived from the Greek word meaning "to smell", which is appropriate for most members of family

Lamiaceae The Lamiaceae ( ) or Labiatae are a family (biology), family of flowering plants commonly known as the mint, deadnettle, or sage family. Many of the plants are aromatic in all parts and include widely used culinary herbs like basil (herb), ba ...

. With over 40 cultivars of basil, this abundance of flavors, aromas, and colors leads to confusion when identifying specific cultivars. Three types of basil are commonly used in Thai cuisine.

Thai basil, or ''horapha'' (), is widely used throughout Southeast Asia and plays a prominent role in
Vietnamese cuisine Vietnamese cuisine encompasses the foods and beverages originated from Vietnam. Meals feature a combination of five fundamental tastes (): sweet, salty, bitter, sour, and Piquant, spicy. The distinctive nature of each dish reflects one or more ...
. It is the cultivar most often used for Asian cooking in Western kitchens.
Holy basil (''O. tenuiflorum''), ''mreah-pruv'' (), or ''kaphrao'' (), which has a spicy, peppery, clove-like taste, may be the basil Thai people love most. It is also known as ''Thai holy basil'' or by its Indian name, ''tulasi'' or '' tulsi''; it is widely used in
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
for culinary, medicinal, and religious purposes.
Lemon basil (''O. × citriodorum''), or ''maenglak'' (), as its name implies, has undertones of lemon in scent and taste. Lemon basil is the least commonly used type of basil in Thailand. It is also known as ''Thai lemon basil'', in contradistinction to Mrs. Burns' Lemon basil, another cultivar.

In Taiwan the Thai basil is called ''káu-chàn-thah'' (), which literally means "nine-storey pagoda".

Uses

Culinary

Thai basil is widely used in the cuisines of Southeast Asia, including Thai, Vietnamese, Lao, and Cambodian cuisines. Thai basil leaves are a frequent ingredient in Thai

green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a com ...

and red curries, though in Thailand the basil used in drunken noodles and many chicken, pork, and seafood dishes is holy basil. In the West, however, such dishes typically contain Thai basil instead, which is much more readily available than holy basil. Thai basil is also an important ingredient in the very popular Taiwanese dish sanbeiji (three-cup chicken). Used as a condiment, a plate of raw Thai basil leaves is often served as an accompaniment to many Vietnamese dishes, such as phở (Southern style), bún bò Huế, or

bánh xèo ''Bánh xèo'' (, ) is a crispy, stuffed rice pancake popular in Vietnam. The name refers to the sound (from ''xèo'' – 'sizzling') a thin layer of rice batter makes when it is poured into the hot skillet. It is a savoury fried pancake made of ...

, so that each person can season to taste with the anise-flavored leaves.

Cultivation

Thai basil is a tender perennial but is typically grown as an annual. As a tropical plant, Thai basil is hardy only in very warm climates where there is no chance of frost. It is generally hardy to

USDA The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that aims to meet the needs of commerc ...

plant hardiness zone 10. Thai basil, which can be grown from seed or cuttings, requires fertile, well-draining soil with a pH ranging from 6.5 to 7.5 and 6 to 8 hours of full sunlight per day. The flowers should be pinched to prevent the leaves from becoming bitter. Thai basil can be repeatedly harvested by taking a few leaves at a time and should be harvested periodically to encourage regrowth.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thai Basil Ocimum Herbs